Should the eighth season of "How I Met Your Mother" be the last? That is a question that many fans of the show will be wondering throughout the summer. For a while, many assumed that the show was ending after the eighth season. After all, several members of the cast have contracts expiring after the Season 8. However, the production team says that they are producing the eighth season as if there was a future beyond that. While they acknowledge that the season could be the last, they don't seem as certain as some would have thought. There is no doubt that many fans would love to see "How I Met Your Mother" continue into the future, but there is a case to be made for making next season the last. Here are a few reasons why it wouldn't be a bad thing if the show ends next spring.
The contracts have to be considered.
Whenever a show faces contract negotiations with the cast after this many years, there is a very real chance that at least one will want to leave. Several stars on this show, most notably Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, have seen their star power increase exponentially. Segel has already forged a solid movie career, and it stands to reason that he will keep that going. He has already hinted about leaving after the eighth season. Meanwhile, Harris has suggested that the cast won't have a united front when it comes to negotiating. Keeping some of these actors might be too expensive, which decreases the chances of having everyone return. It would really ruin the show if even one of the main stars didn't return for a ninth season.
There aren't a lot of places to go.
Now that the Barney and Robin mystery has been resolved, where else can the show go beyond next season? The only remaining mystery is the identity of Ted's future bride, and it looks like we won't learn that until the series finale. Sure, it will be fun to see how Barney goes from being engaged to Quinn to ending up with Robin, but how long can they drag that out without making it feel stale? The timeline within the show has already been stretched pretty thin. The longer the producers go without letting everyone meet Ted's wife, the less realistic the show will be.
Eight seasons are enough.
There's a reason that few sitcoms stay on the air for more than eight seasons. After a while, things stop working. This show has talented actors and solid writers, so everyone can expect to laugh throughout the eighth season. However, every sitcom shows its age eventually. The same jokes stop being funny, and the storylines start becoming absurd. As great as this show has been, it has already shown signs of those things happening. It's always better to go out on a strong note.
